With the 2020 Champions Hockey League final just over a week away, it's time to start studying the form guide. We take a look at how each team's domestic season has played out so far.
It would be fair to say that Mountfield HK's Czech Extraliga season hasn't been going as planned. Part of the reason for bringing in co-Head Coach Vladimír Růžička was to try and turn their domestic form around and to a large degree it's worked - over the last 20 games, the team from Hradec Králové are a top-five side, collecting 31 out of 60 available points. Mountfield are however still suffering from their early-season record and for that reason find themselves in ninth. Three wins in the last five have seen them rise up, and they now have at least a game in hand on some of the teams they're chasing for position. Only five points outside of the Top 6 at this stage of the season is not a bad place to be in.
Radek Smoleňák leads the team for points with 29 from 39, and is also the team's top shooter with 18 goals. While the team trail only Liberec in the fewest amount of goals conceded (average of 2.46 against per game), it's goal scoring that has been their issue - only two sides in the 14-team Extraliga have scored fewer. Mountfield average 2.49 goals per game so far.
Mountfield have three games before the final - they host Kladno on Tuesday night before heading to Pilsen on Friday. Sunday is a local derby against Pardubice!
Eight points separate the top three in Sweden, and it's Frölunda who find themselves with some points to make up - but nevertheless among the top places where they want to be. Three wins on the spin have helped propel Roger Rönnberg's side up the table and, much like Mountfield, their record over the past 20 or so games is good. What's interesting with the Indians however is that while they have the SHL's best home form, road games have been less good - 21 points from 17 games away from home is only the eighth-best in the league.
No surprises for guessing who leads Frölunda in points! Ryan Lasch has 31 from 32 games with captain Joel Lundqvist and Simon Hjalmarsson six behind but the team's joint-leading goal scorers on 12.
The Indians will play two games before the CHL Final: on Thursday they're in Stockholm to face Djurgården, while on Saturday it's a trip to Leksand.